What's the deal with Jackson Hole WY?

[Anonymous]

Huge amounts of private wealth in the Rockies. Many are second or third or fourth homes. Others are trust fund kids of very wealthy families.

Jackson Hole can be seen as an outpost of NYC and LA to an extent as the same people shuttle back and forth all the time. It's for the very rich.

[Anonymous]

No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

I was just coming on here to point that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

You don't need to necessarily spend 51% of their time in no income tax states. You could spend 2 months in CA, 4 months in WY, 2 months in NY and the rest of the year in Europe and be considered a WY resident for US tax purposes. From my experience, tax fraud is actually pretty rare for these people because their private jet travel creates a very transparent record of where they spend time. Jackson Hole exists for UHNW individuals who are there to avoid poor people and state income taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was surprised to find that its expensive as Manhattan. Even more so.

All the houses are over $1M?? Even the tract suburban ones.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/605-E-Hansen-Ave-Jackson-WY-83001/194365611_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6650-Forweal-Dr-Jackson-WY-83001/194362849_zpid/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/475-S-Jackson-St-Jackson-WY-83001/194364706_zpid/

It's a rich person's paradise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

It's interesting to note that Maryland has conflicting interests here...the more captive you make your residency formula, the more income tax you will potentially capture...but at the same time, you scare away snowbirds from other states (a fast growing population) and get fewer sales, use, and property taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm another person who doesn't get the hype about Jackson Hole. Remote and hard to get to, and has one shopping street full of boutiques selling $300 scarves and galleries with $2000 vases.

It has an airport and is basically IN the Tetons (why to people keep mentioning Yellowstone)?

It is like Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, etc. Gorgeous year round and with all season activities.

I did mention the Tetons. Meaning you're not the first to do so in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

It's interesting to note that Maryland has conflicting interests here...the more captive you make your residency formula, the more income tax you will potentially capture...but at the same time, you scare away snowbirds from other states (a fast growing population) and get fewer sales, use, and property taxes.

pretty much every state has this residency requirement. A friend is changing their residency from DC to FL because they split their time in 3 homes and aren't in any of them for 6 months - they can pick their official residence since they aren't in DC for 6 months and a day. They do need to get FL drivers licenses, car registrations, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

It's interesting to note that Maryland has conflicting interests here...the more captive you make your residency formula, the more income tax you will potentially capture...but at the same time, you scare away snowbirds from other states (a fast growing population) and get fewer sales, use, and property taxes.

pretty much every state has this residency requirement. A friend is changing their residency from DC to FL because they split their time in 3 homes and aren't in any of them for 6 months - they can pick their official residence since they aren't in DC for 6 months and a day. They do need to get FL drivers licenses, car registrations, etc.

I don't understand why states just don't move to a pro-rata residency requirement, perhaps with a two-week minimum to file taxes. Six months minus one day made sense in the horse & buggy era, but not today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

It's interesting to note that Maryland has conflicting interests here...the more captive you make your residency formula, the more income tax you will potentially capture...but at the same time, you scare away snowbirds from other states (a fast growing population) and get fewer sales, use, and property taxes.

pretty much every state has this residency requirement. A friend is changing their residency from DC to FL because they split their time in 3 homes and aren't in any of them for 6 months - they can pick their official residence since they aren't in DC for 6 months and a day. They do need to get FL drivers licenses, car registrations, etc.

I don't understand why states just don't move to a pro-rata residency requirement, perhaps with a two-week minimum to file taxes. Six months minus one day made sense in the horse & buggy era, but not today.

it does work that way for earned income. if i'm a DC resident but i work for 1 week in California, i'm supposed to file a California non-resident return for 1/52 of my income. this famously applies to professional athletes, who have to file returns in every state with an income tax where a match takes place.

but it would be difficult to apply this same formula to unearned income like dividends, capital gains, or a pension. if i'm retired and a travel to disneyland LA for a week, all of a sudden i need to file a non-resident tax return? what if i'm just driving across the country and spend a day or two in each state? and so on and so forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

We know several retired people who are legal residents of Florida but spend most of their time in the Bahamas. They return to Maryland for the six months minus one day (maximum time you can reside in Maryland without being recognized as a resident). So they actually spend very little time in Florida and only in transit for the most part but they are still legal residents of Florida, not Maryland even though they spend more time in Maryland than Florida!

It's quite common and very legal. It's not fraud. It may not seem fair but it's not fraud.

It's interesting to note that Maryland has conflicting interests here...the more captive you make your residency formula, the more income tax you will potentially capture...but at the same time, you scare away snowbirds from other states (a fast growing population) and get fewer sales, use, and property taxes.

pretty much every state has this residency requirement. A friend is changing their residency from DC to FL because they split their time in 3 homes and aren't in any of them for 6 months - they can pick their official residence since they aren't in DC for 6 months and a day. They do need to get FL drivers licenses, car registrations, etc.

I don't understand why states just don't move to a pro-rata residency requirement, perhaps with a two-week minimum to file taxes. Six months minus one day made sense in the horse & buggy era, but not today.

it does work that way for earned income. if i'm a DC resident but i work for 1 week in California, i'm supposed to file a California non-resident return for 1/52 of my income. this famously applies to professional athletes, who have to file returns in every state with an income tax where a match takes place.

but it would be difficult to apply this same formula to unearned income like dividends, capital gains, or a pension. if i'm retired and a travel to disneyland LA for a week, all of a sudden i need to file a non-resident tax return? what if i'm just driving across the country and spend a day or two in each state? and so on and so forth.

California has a 1 day rule. Most states don’t expect tax on income earned in the state until you’ve been there 30 days in a year (doesn’t have to be consecutive days). And I think it’s 30 working days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state income tax in Wyoming. We know 2 wealthy people who make it their primary residence for that reason. And they've achieved wealth critical mass so there are the amenities wealthy people want - a good airport, great restaurants, decent shopping, cultural and outdoor activities, etc.

Legit question: do these people actually spend 51% of their time in no income tax states?

I’m convinced that many do not and this is actually one of the biggest sources of tax fraud, tho it’s very difficult to police.

You don't need to spend 51% of your time in Wyoming. You just need to not spend more than 51% of your time in any other one state. Not hard to do for someone who has a house in San Francisco, and apartment in NY, and spends some time abroad. They then pick Wyoming as their state of residence.

It's actually relatively easy to do in the DC area. House in DC, home on the Eastern Shore, ranch out west. Spend Friday through Monday at the Eastern Shore, long holidays at the ranch, and travel elsewhere on business throughout the year.

Everyone I know who does this keeps meticulous records.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm another person who doesn't get the hype about Jackson Hole. Remote and hard to get to, and has one shopping street full of boutiques selling $300 scarves and galleries with $2000 vases.

Remote isn't an issue when you have your own jet.